Drinking with the Democrats by Mark Will-Weber

Author:Mark Will-Weber
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781621575481
Publisher: Regnery Publishing
Published: 2016-06-15T04:00:00+00:00

LAST CALL

Seward had two reasons to be happy. There was Johnson’s acquittal, of course, but also Seward—an aficionado of fine wines—had bet someone a basket of champagne that Johnson would be cleared.

GROVER

CLEVELAND

1885 – 1889

1893 – 1897

“WELL, MY DEAR FELLOW, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT, CHAMPAGNE?”

—Grover Cleveland

BIG STEVE

A CENTURY BEFORE a sex scandal nearly destroyed Bill Clinton’s chances of winning the presidency, Grover Cleveland demonstrated that a presidential candidate could sidestep a serious sex scandal and still reach the Executive Mansion without much manure sticking to his shoes.

In Cleveland’s case, the scandal involved his admission that he might have fathered a child out of wedlock with Maria Halpin in 1874. To which the forces of James G. Blaine, the Republican nominee, gleefully trumpeted: “Ma, ma, where’s my Pa?” After Cleveland won the 1884 election, his Democratic supporters famously blasted back: “Gone to the White House! Ha, ha, ha!”

If not for William Howard Taft, the “most portly president” designation would be held by Cleveland. Born Stephen Grover Cleveland, “Big Steve” was an early nickname. He later acquired “Uncle Jumbo” as well.

An eager eater of meat chops, beefsteaks, sausages, and cheese, and a renowned pounder of beer (plus other forms of alcohol), Cleveland’s daily habits led to his corpulence and poor health in general. He rarely exercised, unless you count fishing and some leisurely hunting—both activities which are suitably accompanied by a flask. A newspaper once speculated that he did not attend the theater because it was a real question whether he could fit in a seat. Even by his first term as president, Cleveland—not yet fifty years old—was already limping around with occasional bouts of gout.

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